Apple's headphones have already passed the test, but what about other sources of loud music? Should we really be worried about going deaf? New research published in the Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing suggests the whole topic is overblown.

It's worth bearing in mind that prolonged exposure to excessively loud music will do damage to your hearing, but a little perspective goes a long way, claims this new research conducted by the University of Minnesota.

Incorrect hearing tests have propagated a myth that loud music causes hearing loss, with the research detecting that 10 per cent of children have been handed an incorrect prognosis for hearing issues, with false positives being discovered in many cases.

They apparently performed tests on the University's marching band, where they followed them for a year and discovered that of the 15 per cent of the members who had "apparent noise-induced hearing loss," over 50 per cent of their problems actually disappeared after a year.

Saying all that, however, Bert Schlauch, the professor who led the study at the University, still urges people to use common sense when listening to loud music, as "the damage may build up over time and not appear until a person is older."

There's still a good chance that we might all end up wearing these head bubbles to improve our hearing, then. [Wired]